Melting (Freezing) of Antarctica

Ken Kifer's Bike Pages

Ken Kifer's articles on bicycle
lifestyle, safety, advocacy, commuting, and touring with easy to understand tips
and skills. That's failing to mention the extensive list of well organized links
to other great websites.

United Nations Peace Operations in 2001

Covering the peace operations undertaken by the United Nations (UN) during 2001,
this report
details efforts to defuse mass hostility and violence in Europe, Asia, Africa,
Central America, and in the Pacific. Approximately 39,500 soldiers and 7,500 civilian
police worked with 4,300 international civilian staff and 8,500 local civilian staff.
Under often tense and difficult conditions (58 were killed), these peace workers
functioned as observers, engineers, analysts, human rights workers, legal and administrative
experts, and translators and linguists, as well as working on military demobilization
and land mine removal. Translation: Heroic and valuable service to humanity. This
report (also available in French and Spanish) is dedicated to telling these workers's
stories, expressing their collective voice, and celebrating the year's accomplishments.
Divided into sections by geographic area (Asia, Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe,
and the Middle East), the report offers brief fact sheets and links to more comprehensive
UN sites on Peacekeeping Operations, Peace and Security Issues, and Employment Opportunities.

Bringing Down a Dictator: Serbia Under Milosevic

In 1989, the Berlin Wall falls. As country after country in the old Warsaw Pact
turns to democracy, Yugoslavia takes a different path. A Serbian politician, Slobodan
Milosevic, instigates a wave of nationalist hysteria that causes the death of millions
in ten years of civil wars, and earns Milosevic the nickname "Butcher of the
Balkans." From PB. http://www.pbs.org/weta/dictator/

Blood and Water

Oil, namely the vast reserves in Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, is the cause of
many of the broad geopolitical battles plaguing the Middle East. But it is access
to water, a more fundamental resource, is at the root of much of the bitter conflict
between Israel and Palestine. In fact, the Palestinians rejected a recent peace proposal
from Israel in part because it didn't give them control of water resources within
their territory. In Part I of a two-part series, writer Jessica McCallin assesses
the water
conflict and its role in the Middle East peace process, only on the Grist
Magazine website.

Artists in Mozambique

Artists in Mozambique are turning weapons from the country's war-torn past into
symbols of peace. This
article from the Christian Science Monitor by Nicole Itano is very encouraging.

Orphaned Baby Whale

Scientists are working to save an orphaned baby whale swimming in the Puget Sound.
They're considering using a Hovercraft to ferry the whale home to Canada. The 1-year-old
orca was born to a pod that returns each summer to the waters around northern Vancouver
Island. But its mother died, the rest of the pod rejected the baby, and it showed
up alone in Puget Sound last month. Since then, the whale has been following a ferry,
rubbing up against logs and capturing Seattle's heart. To learn about threats to
whales, go to http://www.saveourwhales.org.

National Council of Churches: Focus on Poverty

To launch its 10-year mobilization addressing the challenge of
poverty, National Council of Churches focuses on poverty-related
issues during the 31 days of March 2002, ending on Easter Sunday.

A special section of the NCC website features . .

Preaching About Poverty
The Bible Speaks About Poverty
Poverty-Related Events During March
Good Works That 'Work'
Poverty By the Numbers
Theological Reflection on Poverty

The tricky art of defining 'terrorism'

We have discussed the definition of terrorism. The
article includes links which might be valuable. It was interesting to me to hear
Robin Kirk, Senior Researcher for the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch emphasize
the use of "acts of terror" rather than "terrorist" in talking
about Colombia. She also said how important it is to emphasize human rights in Colombia
and support Senator Leahy in this. Interesting that restriction of visas to Colombians
who had been involved in acts of terror was a great incentive since so many Colombians
want to go to Disney Land.

Justice Talking

Explore each week the cases and controversies that come before our nation's courts
and challenge our nation's conscience.

National Public Radio's Justice Talking is a one-hour, weekly radio program produced
by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Hosted by
veteran NPR correspondent Margot Adler and taped before a live audience, the show
takes an in-depth look at the cases and controversies that come before our nation's
courts and go the heart of what in means to live in a democracy.

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